Mike's eyes lit up as he instantly understood Ares's intentions!
According to Apollo, ever since Thor first appeared, humanity had upheld a belief:
Humanity exists to protect Thor.
In truth, this belief extended to every generation of potential Supre Beings and Supre Beings.
Apollo was no exception.
Apollo had been struggling to understand this concept.
But why struggle when you could just see it for yourself?
Ares had tried to look into it before but couldn't see clearly.
He had the ability to reach that mont in the river of ti, but he lacked the ans to uncover the truth.
Apollo was simply too powerful-Ares couldn't send soone like him to the other side of the river of ti.
But Ares could pay a price to send Mike there, using Mike's eyes to uncover the truth.
After explaining his plan, Ares fell silent for a longer ti than usual.
Clearly, maintaining his [Final Fate's Reversal] state without a complete Supre Mark was taking a toll on him.
The most critical issue was that if Ares grew any stronger, the Supre Demon God outside the river of ti would imdiately intervene.
The Supre Demon God would never allow Ares to return to his peak.
If Ares and Apollo joined forces at full strength, the Supre Demon God might not be killed, but it would undoubtedly suffer devastating injuries.
Ares gave Mike a final, thoughtful reminder:
"Use only one eye to look."
Mike quickly shut his right eye.
The Eye of Truth emitted a faint glow.
Even the Eye of Truth understood the stakes-if this mission failed, it would fail too.
The only way to advance further was to solve Apollo's mystery.
Who would've thought that the key to solving this problem would be Thor?
Even knowing the risk of going blind, Mike didn't hesitate.
What worried him more was the possibility of failing to reach the mont or failing to see the truth once he got there.
That would render all their efforts aningless.
This was clearly a one-shot attempt.
Ares could only do this once.
Mike couldn't afford to let such a critical mission fall apart on his watch.
Taking a deep breath, Mike steadied himself.
Just as he was about to tell Ares he was ready, a flash of crimson light streaked across his vision.
For the first ti, Mike clearly saw Ares unleash a full-strength strike.
A crimson horse carried Mike, galloping upstream through the river of ti, breaking through countless scenes.
Finally, they arrived at the mont the Tower of Truth was forged.
A blinding white light filled Mike's vision, making it impossible to see anything.
Bang!
Mike's heart seized painfully, the intense pain nearly causing him to lose consciousness.
Even so, he forced his eyes wide open, determined to see what was happening and uncover how Apollo ca to be.
[8 seconds required!]
A notification appeared in Mike's bloodshot left eye.
Even with the Eye of Truth operating at full capacity, it would take 8 seconds to discern the scene before him.
But he only had 5 seconds!
It was an impossible task.
Mike grinned defiantly.
Impossible?
I've got two eyes, you fool!
He opened his tightly shut right eye.
[4!]
[3!]
[2!]
[1!]
Just before Mike's vision plunged into total darkness, he made it.
Mike saw...
Within the blinding light, a middle-aged man sat atop a butterfly.
Above the butterfly's head, a notification appeared:
[Source of the World]
Mike's heart sank.
Apollo's suspicions were true.
He really was connected to the Source of the World.
Just as Mike was about to lose consciousness, he caught one final glimpse.
The notification above the butterfly's head changed, adding a few more words:
[Heavenly Realm Source of the World]
Pain.
This ti, even the Eye of Truth couldn't cry out in protest.
The light had been stripped from Mike's vision, but the final image was seared deeply into his
mind.
Apollo's butterfly was indeed the Source of the World.
But it wasn't what they had all thought.
It was the Source of the World from the Heavenly Realm!
Piecing together the clues in his mind, Mike began to form a rough picture of the truth.
The mysterious and powerful [Truth] wasn't from this world.
He ca from the Heavenly Realm.
This explained why [Truth] possessed the [Truth Source] and why he had the genius idea to
create the Tower of Truth.
From the very beginning, Truth hadn't been trying to survive the Apocalypse.
He had been trying to go ho.
But instead of returning ho, he had accidentally dragged the Heavenly Realm's Source of
the World into the calamity.
Mike felt confident that his theory was close to the truth.
As for the finer details, he would need to question those who had been there at the ti to
learn more.
Still, Mike believed his guess was mostly accurate.
Though he couldn't see, Mike could feel himself being pulled back.
Landing in the river of ti, the first thing Mike said was,
"I didn't ruin my face, did I?"
Ares: ...
Mike's eyes were now gray and lifeless.
It was clear he couldn't see for the ti being and would need so ti to recover.
Ares sighed and asked,
"How did you end up like this?"
He had warned Mike beforehand that staring at the scene for too long could overwhelm him.
At best, he'd go blind.
Ares had even prepared himself for the possibility that Thor might fail.
But not only had Thor succeeded, he had also severely injured his eyes in the process.
"One eye wasn't enough, so I went all in..."
[Yes, you went all in-and dragged down with you.]
[You're sothing else, Thor.]
Seeing the notification from the Eye of Truth, Mike chuckled.
At least the Eye of Truth was still alive.
Good news 1.
[I'm tired. My talent's out of juice. I'm going to sleep now.]
The Eye of Truth grumbled a bit before going offline.
Seeing that Mike was otherwise fine, Ares asked,
"So, what did you see?"
Mike recounted everything he had witnessed at the end of ti.
Ares nodded slightly, agreeing,
"That makes sense..."
Mike raised an eyebrow.
"Ares, did you already figure sothing out before?"
"No."
Ares, though competitive, wasn't one to bluff.
He admitted frankly,
"I didn't expect it to be like this either."
Mike had barely begun to relax when Ares added,
"If that's the case, things might actually be more complicated."
Seeing Mike's confusion, Ares explained briefly,
"This ans Apollo's consciousness and the Heavenly Realm's Source of the World will need
to undergo a separation process.
"Based on Apollo's thinking, the Heavenly Realm's Source of the World might end up... as a
butterfly?"
This issue was sowhat outside Ares's area of expertise.
Mike knew that if Ares truly understood sothing, he would say it.
If Ares wasn't speaking, it ant he had already shared everything he knew.
Ares casually remarked,
"It's ti to head back."
Temporarily blinded, Mike didn't notice anything unusual as he followed Ares's guidance
back into the river of ti.
Behind him, the swordsman remained standing in the river of ti.
Though his sword was gone, his spirit remained unyielding.
Only after Mike's figure disappeared did a faint smile appear on Ares's face.
His recognition of Thor had grown even stronger.
If sothing were to happen to Ares, and Apollo fell in his battle against the Supre Demon
God, humanity's future fate would rest in the hands of the fourth-generation Supre Being,
Thor.
And Ares felt... at peace with that.
For the first ti in many years, the burden on his shoulders seed a little lighter.
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